Category:American Idol

"Clay Aiken", born Clayton Holmes Grissom (b. November 30, 1978) is an American pop music singer who rose to fame on the ''American Idol'' television program. He came in close second (after Ruben Studdard), but has largely eclipsed the official contest winner in both popularity and record sales. Aiken is a devout Southern Baptist.

His debut album, ''Measure of a Man'', was released October 14, 2003 and has since gone triple platinum.

Biography

Aiken (he changed his last name from Grissom to his mother's maiden name Aiken) hails from Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Raleigh's Leesville Road High School before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Although his ''American Idol'' activities temporarily delayed his academic pursuits, Aiken graduated with a bachelor's degree in special eduation in December of 2003. He found his interest in special education during high school, and became an assistant to a severely autistic boy. It was this child's mother that urged him to audition for ''American Idol''.

His interest in autism issues led him to set up the Bubel-Aiken Foundation, which supports efforts to give children with special needs the same educational opportunities with normal children.

In November of 2003, Aiken appeared on The Nick At Nite Holiday Special, where he sang a duet with Bing Crosby via special effects.The song was Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth, which was originally sung by Bing Crosby and David Bowie on a 1977 Christmas special.

In 2004, Aiken embarked on the "Independent Tour" with Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first ''American Idol'' contest.

Fans of Clay have been fondly called "Claymates". These "Claymates" have been known to have little slogans such as "Clay is my bridge over troubled waters", "Aiken for Clay",or"Clay all the way".

External links

* A Clay Aiken fansite

* Clay Aiken Official Site

* Claymaniacs, a fan site

* All Things Clay Aiken, a fan site

{{msg:stub}}

---

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html for details. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Clay Aiken.

---

 Clay Aiken in the News
1. Aspiring Ala. Doctor Crowned Miss America - 19 Sep 04 - ABC News
Aspiring Ala. Doctor Crowned Miss America

2. Sedaka enjoys chart renaissance - 28/03/2004 - BBC News
Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka is back in the US charts thanks to the success of American Idol.

3. Miss Alabama Crowned Miss America - 19 Sep 04 - ABC News
Miss Alabama Crowned Miss America

4. Place in history for US Idol star - 27/02/2004 - BBC News
Clothes belonging to US Idol runner-up clay aiken are to be exhibited at his local museum.

5. Miss America Field Narrowed to 10 - 18 Sep 04 - ABC News
Miss America Field Narrowed to 10

6. Huge album sales for Idol's aiken - 11/12/2003 - BBC News
The debut album from American Idol runner-up clay aiken, reaches the two million sales mark.

7. Miss America Seeks to Reach More Viewers - 18 Sep 04 - ABC News
Miss America Seeks to Reach More Viewers

8. Singer aiken in cat controversy - 19/11/2003 - BBC News
Singer clay aiken faces a row with an animal rights group after saying he did not like cats.

9. 52 Women to Compete for Miss America - 18 Sep 04 - ABC News
52 Women to Compete for Miss America

10. Album hit for US Idol runner-up - 23/10/2003 - BBC News
American Idol runner-up clay aiken hits number one on the Billboard album chart with his debut Measure Of A Man.

---

 Clay Aiken on the Web
1. claytonaiken.com Temporary Page
Write to him: clay aiken c/o American Idol PO Box 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900, OR clay aiken Official Fan Club PO Box 90217 Raleigh, NC 27675. ...
http://www.claytonaiken.com/ Google, Yahoo, MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

2. clay aiken - Official Web Site
clay aiken - Official Web Site ...
http://www.clayaiken.com/ MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb, Yahoo Sites, Yahoo

3. Home - clay aiken American Idol 2 Fansite :: clay.neurox.net
... Welcome to clay.neurox.net, Neurox Media's American Idol 2 fan site dedicated to clay aiken and all his fans ... This is true for the clay aiken forum as well ...
http://clay.neurox.net/ MSN, Hotbot, Yahoo Sites, Alltheweb, Yahoo

4. clay aiken Tickets : Buy clay aiken Concerts Tickets Sell clay aiken Tickets @ buyselltix.com ...
Buy Sell clay aiken Concerts Tickets Online. ... clay aiken Tickets. Bookmark Us : Testimonials : 800-451-8499 ... Some artists are born with a talent and god gifted voice, clay aiken is one of them ...
http://www.buyselltix.com/concerts/clayaiken.php Yahoo, Google, MSN, Alltheweb

5. clay aiken Online
clay aiken wallpaper, buddy icons, pictures, news and updates ... Health, happiness and hope, -clay" (Part of clay's ... as of last week! Congratulations clay on your wonderful success ... up all of my clay pictures from the NY concert ...
http://www.promoinnovations.com/clay MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb, Yahoo

6. SirLinksalot: clay aiken Links
provides links to fan pages and news about the American Idol finalist.
http://www.sirlinksalot.net/clayaiken.html Yahoo, MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

7. Amazon.com: Music: Measure of a Man
Measure of a Man, clay aiken ... love to sing and that seems happily obvious with clay aiken. But this album teases the listener and ... together piece of commercialism. clay aiken also doesn't do himself any favors ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AGWEC Yahoo, Hotbot, MSN, Alltheweb

8. clay aiken - clay Maniacs
clay aiken, 2003 American Idol runner-up featured on this fan site. Includes a biography, pictures, news articles, a forum and much more. ... Dianne Austin: clay aiken Was My Teacher ... My daughter Chelsea recently got to sing a duet with clay aiken at one of his concerts in front of about 1 ...
http://www.claymaniacs.com/ MSN, Hotbot, Google, Yahoo

9. clay aiken - claytonaiken.com: An Unofficial Fansite
... .com is not affiliated in any way with clay aiken, 19 Entertainment, FOX, American Idol, idolonfox.com, or ... Write to him: clay aiken. c/o American Idol ...
http://www.claytonaiken.com/home.asp Yahoo, MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

10. Amazon.com: Music: Bridge Over Troubled Water/This Is The Night [CD-SINGLE]
... Considering the songs given to him, clay aiken did a great job on this single. " ... what can I say AWESOME. clay aiken is a superstar with a magnificent voice ...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00009PRZF Yahoo, MSN, Hotbot, Alltheweb

11. Forever - A clay aiken Fanlisting
Forever - A clay aiken Fanlisting Forever Forever Forever Forever A clay aiken Fanlisting Forever Welcome to Forever, a fanlisting for clay aiken. clay is an amazing singer who has blown 1000s of viewers of ...
http://dreaminaway.net/clay Hotbot, Alltheweb, MSN, Yahoo

12. Lecherous Broads For clay aiken
fan board paying tribute to American Idol 2 finalist clay aiken.
http://lbfca.diaryland.com/ Yahoo Sites, Google, Alltheweb

13. Teen Girls Cling to Hope That clay aiken is Just Really Sensitive
of Raleigh, NC, there may be no doubt, but throughout the rest of the country, there is only hope—hope that just maybe, quite possibly clay aiken, the 24-year ...
http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/5_0703/clayisgay.html Google, Yahoo, Alltheweb

14. Finding clay aiken
... Finding clay aiken. Finding clay aiken is the one stop shop for everything clay on the ... If you love clay aiken, this is the web site for you. ...
http://www.findingclayaiken.com/ MSN, Alltheweb, Yahoo

15. clay aiken -- Charlotte.com
... BUBEL/aiken FOUNDATION. clay aiken Launches The Bubel/aiken Foundation Web site ... "American Idol" runner-up clay aiken shed light on his painful Raleigh childhood for the first ...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/special_packag... Yahoo, MSN, Alltheweb

16. clay aiken Concert tickets tour dates clay aiken Pictures American Idol pictures music Aitken
... clay aiken. From: Raleigh, North Carolina ... clay aiken and Kelly Clarkson will join forces for a co-headlining arena trek kicking off in late February Tour dates ...
http://www.comeparty.co.nz/clayaiken.htm Alltheweb, Yahoo, MSN

17. Lyrics on Demand: clay aiken
includes album and single lyrics.
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/c/clayaikenlyrics/ Yahoo Sites, Google

18. clay aiken Online Shrine
... The clay aiken. Online Shrine ... Ruben Studdard may have won American Idol 2, but clay aiken is likely to have the more promising career as a pop star ...
http://www.online-shrine.com/clay-aiken Yahoo, Alltheweb

19. .:clay aiken:.
Site :. Other clay aiken/American Idol Sites:. Affiliate Info :. ... clay aiken Fans! clay aiken Fans! ...
http://www.freewebs.com/aikenfan13/main.html Yahoo, Alltheweb

20. clay aiken Lyrics, Pictures, Tickets, Links, Tour, Posters, Concert Tickets, News, Wallpaper, Songs ...
Links to news, information, books, posters and more about clay aiken. ... clay aiken. clay aiken. Buy this Photo at AllPosters.com ...
http://www.celebrityspider.com/clayaiken.html Yahoo, Alltheweb